


Complexities

by waxbirds



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: During Canon, F/M, I apparently can't write things without backstory but I promise we'll get to the good stuff, Pining, Reed's a dick tbh, Slight Canon Divergence???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-05-18 10:43:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14851241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waxbirds/pseuds/waxbirds
Summary: A crumpled napkin hit the side of your cheek. You made a noise, looking over at Hank and glaring. “What was that for?!”“The drool,” he laughed, “it’s a good thing plastic doesn’t rust, huh?”“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you muttered, feeling your cheeks turn pink.“Uh-huh."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know you came here for Connor/Reader feels and I promise to deliver, I just apparently really like backstory???

“Captain, just hear me out!”

“You’re a patrol officer, or have you forgotten that?”

You made a face, glancing down at the uniform you’d been wearing for the last three years straight. How could you forget what you were? You also couldn’t forget your desire to move up in the ranks; you’d spent the last three years doing great work and without a single disciplinary note in your file to offset the commendations you’d received, there was no reason for you to still be where you were. You had your theories of why you were but you’d just have to keep pushing.

You sighed, taking a second to get yourself together before replying. “Captain Fowler, I know I’m a patrol officer. And I’m a damn good one, if I do say so myself. I have a dozen commendations for going above and beyond my duty, and there’s no reason why I’m still a patrol officer. I’m not asking you to promote me, I’m asking you to give me a chance to prove I’m worth promoting.”

It was when you heard him sigh your name you really panicked and before you could stop yourself, you added, “You said it yourself! Everyone’s overburdened with cases. We need another set of eyes and I can be that. Please.”

The Captain sighed again before glancing at the folder in front of him, laying open on his desk. 

“Lieutenant Anderson was assigned a case. If you can find him, accompany him to the scene. You have permission to shadow him, do you understand?”

You beamed at him, nodding fervently. “Absolutely, Captain! I won’t let you down!” you told him excitedly, and without waiting for a response, you sprinted out of his office, trying to think of where you knew Hank Anderson to hang out. It didn’t help that if it was a bar, it was probably good enough for the Lieutenant. Luckily, it seemed the universe was on your side because no sooner had you grabbed your keys for the patrol car did the Lieutenant himself walk through the door. You screeched to a stop in front of his desk and he eyed you warily as he approached.

“You’ve been assigned a case,” you informed excitedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of your feet. He raised an eyebrow, going for the file Captain Fowler had been putting on his desk when you caught up to him. Hank flipped open the file, looking down to read it.

“Is it part of patrol’s job to tell me that now?” he asked curiously, “Or are you the first responder, because if you are, why the fuck aren’t you still there?”

“Oh, no,” you replied, shaking your head. “No, Captain Fowler said I could shadow you on the case.”

“No,” he said shortly, scooping up the file and stepping away from his desk.

“Lieutenant—”

“The last thing I need is an overexcited patrol cop trying to play detective.”

“Lieutenant— _ Hank _ , that’s not…look, I have been working my  _ ass _ off, and I’m ready. I just need someone to give me a chance,” you begged and when he opened his mouth to respond, you cut him off and continued. “You got a couple of those commendations put in my file, you deal with me all the time. You  _ know _ I’m ready for this, Hank. Just give me a chance.  _ Please _ . There’s an open spot for a detective here and wouldn’t you rather it be me who gets it then some jerk off from god knows where?”

Hank eyed you for a minute before sighing. “I’m not writing you shit,” he warned, nodding his head towards the door. “Last thing I need is more paperwork.” You smiled and nodded, taking off after him towards the car.

___

Every time you looked at Detective Reed’s desk, you were rudely reminded about how you’d excelled with Hank on that case that the brass had decided to bring in Detective Reed—Detective Jerk Off, as you and Hank referred to him, instead. It’d been two years and you got your promotion to Detective only a few months ago, but still…you were bitter. He took your spot and wasted your time. It doesn’t help that Detective Jerk Off was actually a total asshole; it was a fitting name given to him before you could even understand how true it was.

“I’m looking for Lieutenant Anderson,” a voice said, shaking you from your thoughts, “do you know where I might find him?”

You looked over at where the voice was coming from and the first thing you noticed were the freckles. You found yourself trying to count as many as you saw, an unfortunate habit from past significant others, but you quickly caught yourself and turned your attention to the man the freckles were on.

Except, the second your eyes caught sight of the LED on the side of his head, you realized it wasn’t a man at all. No, in front of you was an android, and it was a model you hadn’t seen before. Your eyes darted away from his— _ its _ face to take in the uniform it was wearing.

_ RK800 _

That had to be a new model. You were very sure if you’d seen an RK800 before, you’d remember. Cyberlife was just building them to mess with people now; they had to be. If this RK800 was human and at a bar, you’d be buying him— _ it _ a drink and trying to get a cab.

“Who are you, exactly?” you asked finally, shaking yourself from your truly embarrassing thoughts.

“My name is Connor,” the RK800 introduced, “I was sent by Cyberlife to work with Lieutenant Anderson on the case he was assigned two-point-three hours ago.”

“Right…” you muttered, nodding your head. You remember Captain Fowler trying to assign a case and mumbling to himself about Hank. “Your guess is as good as mine,” you finally told him, sighing. “If I know Hank, and I do, he’ll be at the bar.”

“Which bar?”

You shrugged, “Just start checking all the ones near here. He doesn’t frequent just one.” Connor nodded, blinked a couple times and with a thank you was off, leaving you to watch the android leave in a state of confusion.

“What the fuck was that about?” came a gruff voice from next to you and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Detective Jerk Off was back.

“None of my business, Reed,” you grumbled, “which means it’s none of yours either.”

“Oh, come on,” he whined, “don’t be like that, [Y/N].” You cringed at that; you  _ hated _ when he used your name at all, but you especially hated when he used your first name.

“Fuck off, Reed,” you snapped. “Don’t you have cases or literally anything else to do besides interrupt me?” Sensing that he wasn’t going to let up as you could hear his chuckle, you sighed heavily, grabbed the files in front of you on the desk, and went to find a quieter place to work before he could waste anymore of your time.

It turned out, a quiet place to work was one of the picnic tables outside the station they kept for the smokers. It didn’t leave you a lot of room, but it was under a roof and considering the amount of rain, it was the best you could hope for. You could go work in the break room, but you knew Detective Jerk Off well enough to know you wouldn’t be left alone for long; he had no reason to be outside and that’s what made working in the one dry spot outside perfect. 

You were deep into your case work, looking over the photos from the robbery you’d been assigned when you’d shown up this afternoon. The case had been kicked to you after going through two other detectives who’d gotten reassigned, leaving you with their mess. That was detective life for you as a rookie; you’d proven yourself before, but now you had to do it all over again. You were struggling to get through this case since you hadn’t investigated the scene, nor had you gotten to interview anyone; you were stuck with what you had. You kept reviewing the photos, looking for something that might give you a clue as to how the intruders got in and out without tripping a single alarm in a well-protected home.

“What are you doing out here?” 

“Detective Jerk Off was at it again,” you muttered, knowing it was Hank approaching you without looking up from the report you were reading; no one had bypassed the security system as far as the diagnostics could tell. 

“So, you let him chase you out of the building?” asked Hank incredulously, sitting down across from you. One of the folders slid in his direction and instead of pulling it back, you just sighed and looked up but stopped short as you saw that right behind Hank was the android from before. He looked over Hank’s shoulder at the file, unblinking but almost...curious. You looked at Hank, eyebrows raised.

“I didn’t let him chase me out, I just knew he wouldn’t follow me out here,” you said simply, “but more importantly, what’s up with the android?” Hank groaned, shaking his head. 

“Fuck if I know,” he said finally. “It found me at Jimmy’s. Wonder who told it where to find me.”

“Detective [L/N] suggested I look for you in nearby bar,” Connor supplied and you groaned, shaking your head.

“Thanks, Connor,” you said in a pained voice. 

“It told me already,” Hank chuckled. “I’ll remember you rolling on me, by the way. I’ll let you solve this on your own.” He tossed the file back on the table. “Even though I’ve already got it all figured out.” 

“That’s not fair, Lieutenant,” you muttered, “I’ve busted my ass for you more than once.” 

“If you don’t mind,” Connor spoke up, “I think I may be able to deduce what’s happened.” You raised an eyebrow but then shrugged and shoved the folders in his direction. 

“Have at it,” you sighed. “I’m the third detective on the case and the first two were absolutely useless. There's no workable information in these files.” Connor began to open files and you rested your elbow on the table and your chin in your hand, watching him. 

You’d always found androids interesting, and when you could, you tried to study them. You thought that maybe in another life, you’d be working for Cyberlife and researching androids, trying to make them better. Connor was fascinating to you — it was the first time you’d gotten to see a prototype up close, and try as you did to try and think of what was going on in that head, the processes like your own but a million times better, you found yourself again counting the freckles on his face. 

“Hey!” Hank’s voice brought you back to reality, and you reluctantly looked away from Connor, who you only now noticed was staring at you, to Hank. “You listening? It thinks it knows what happened.”

“Sorry,” you muttered, feeling your cheeks flush a little as Hank gave you a knowing look and you looked back to Connor. “Sorry, I must have spaced out. I’m tired. What do you think happened, Connor?” 

“They were robbed by their android after it become deviant.”

“Their android?” you asked, pulling the files towards you, “Nowhere in here does it say they ever had an android.” You started flipping through the hard copy of the interviews, scanning for any mention of an android, but there was nothing. 

“Detective Jerk Off was the first detective,” Hank pointed out, grabbing a couple of the papers, “of course it’s missing half the shit you’d need.” 

“Detective Jerk Off?” Connor repeated in a questioning tone and you couldn’t help but snort at hearing the name coming from the android. “I believe Detective Reed was the first detective assigned the case.”

“One in the same,” Hank sighed. “So the android did it, huh?” 

“There’s a ninety-nine-point-four percent chance that their PL600 is responsible for the robbery,” Connor informed. He looked at you unblinkingly, and you curled your fingers around your jaw, staring back at him. He said something else that you  _ saw _ him say but you didn’t catch it and you blinked again and he was walking away. 

“What?” you asked stupidly, and immediately after, a crumpled napkin hit the side of your cheek. You made a noise, looking over at Hank and glaring. “What was that for?!”

“The drool,” he laughed, “it’s a good thing plastic doesn’t rust, huh?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you muttered, feeling your cheeks turn pink. 

“Uh-huh,” Hank said in a tone that said very much that he didn’t believe you. He stood up, scooping up the files you’d been looking at. “Speaking of things you have no idea about, it just said it was taking the case.” 

“Wait, what?!” you exclaimed, watching Hank as he headed back for the building. When he didn’t answer, you groaned and took off after him. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's read and kudos and commented on this! I definitely wasn't expecting anyone to read this, let alone this many people. You guys just continue to make my day <3

“What do you want _this time_ , Detective?”

Fowler was clearly used to you walking into his office unannounced by now, you’d been doing it for years. He didn’t even bother looking up from his computer as you opened the door, waltzed in and left the door open. You only closed the door behind you if you thought the Captain was going to yell.

“You’re taking too much after Hank,” Fowler noted before you could answer, and you shrugged.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” you said airily, and quickly added what you’d wanted to say since you got there. “Let me work with the android.”

“What?”

“I said,” you started, standing up to your fullest height, “Let me work with the android. Cyberlife is making you assign all the cases involving androids to Hank and Connor, right?”

“ _Connor_?” Captain Fowler asked, finally looking up from his computer. “Really?” You made a face, shifting uncomfortably on your feet and nodding.

“The workload is enormous,” you pointed out. “They’ve already been at it for a couple weeks and they’ve gotten basically nowhere. And you keep giving me everyone else’s scraps anyway. Let me work with them.”

“No,” Fowler said shortly. “We need you…”

“To clean up Reed’s messes?” you finished bitterly. Captain Fowler shot you a look that made it very clear you were pushing all the wrong buttons. You watched him puff up, and you prepared yourself for the worst when he was cut short.

“Let her work with us,” came a lazy voice from the doorway and you turned to see Hank standing there. “As a matter of fact,” he continued, “just let her work with the android and leave me alone.”

“You’re not getting away from this, Hank.”

“Fine,” Hank sighed. “Then add another detective. Give me a fighting chance.”

“What happened to you telling me you absolutely never wanted to work with the kid?” Fowler asked, and Hank looked over at you.

“No offense,” Hank muttered. You gave him an amused expression, shrugging.

“None taken,” you replied, “last thing I want to do is drag your drunk ass around.” Hank snorted, and the corner of his lip twitched into a smile; you mirrored it before looking over to the Captain, who looked between the two of you with exasperation written all over his face.

“If I agree to this,” Fowler started, “does that get the double act out of my office?”

“Yes sir,” you responded, smiling slightly.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Now, get out of my office.” You nodded, turning on your heel to leave. You’d just about gotten to the door when the Captain called out to you, making you stop dead in your tracks.

“Detective?”

“Yeah, Captain?” You turned around to look at him.

“Stop just walking into my office or I swear to god, I’ll start adding disciplinary notes to your file.”

Hank snorted from the doorway, and you had to bite your lip to keep from laughing or even smiling. It didn’t help that Hank was right; it _was_ funny to hear Fowler threaten to write you up. You did your fair share of bad things, everyone human did, but you’d managed to avoid getting written up thus far. What a dumb thing, getting written up for talking to the Captain.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” you said finally, nodding a few times as you turned back towards the door. Hank caught your eye as you passed him, and he gave you a look that made you have to stifle another laugh. You only managed to hold it in until you flopped into your desk chair, and then you began to laugh, shaking your head as you logged into your terminal.

Going through what Hank and Connor had managed to sort out took some time. You’d shouted over at Hank a couple times to ask questions, to which his response was: “Figure it out! You’re on the team for a reason.” You were pretty sure the reason he told Fowler to just let you work with them was so that he could pass things off on you and deal with the android less. Not that you’d let him get away with that so easily, but you had to admit: you were excited to work with Cyberlife’s prototype, see it in action.

“Where is Connor, anyway?” you asked suddenly, looking over at Hank.

“Cyberlife,” he responded without looking up from his screen, “got shot in the arm.”

“Is he alright?”

“I don’t know,” Hank sighed, looking up and he paused, his eyes flitting away from you to something behind you. “Connor?” You turned around to see Connor walking over to the two of you, stopping near your desk.

“I am functioning normally, thank you, Detective,” Connor informed, offering you a slight smile. “I’ve been informed you’re joining the deviant investigation.”

“I am!” you said excitedly, sitting up a little straighter in your seat.

“[Y/N] here fancies herself an android expert,” Hank chuckled. “Figured we should take advantage of that big head.” You made a face, flipping Hank off and causing him to laugh.

“Android expert,” Connor repeated. He blinked a couple times before fixating on you again. “I see a few notes in your file that you’ve been helpful when androids are involved, but no relevant coursework.”

“I-I...he didn’t mean _literally_ ,” you stammered, shooting Hank a look before looking back at Connor. “I just have an interest in androids. I’ve always just found them intriguing and sometimes I pick up helpful tips. I’m by no means an expert.”

“You are not,” Connor agreed and you shifted uncomfortably in your seat, turning back to your terminal. There was an awkward pause you were sure you were alone in feeling before Connor added, “If there’s anything you would like to know about me, I am happy to provide information.” You couldn’t help but smile at his suggestion, and Hank must have seen the sparkle in your eye because before you could start asking anything, he was saying “Later! The last thing we need right now is for the two of you talking android. Unless it’s about these deviants.”

“When we have some time,” you told Connor. “I’ll have a list.”

The three of you ended up at the table in the middle of the room, opting to use tablets in place of the terminals while you tried to piece together any reason why so many androids were suddenly becoming deviant. Connor worked six times faster than either you or Hank, and every time there was an idea voiced, Connor scanned through the information available to him from Cyberlife. So far, you knew that it wasn’t a bad batch of biocomponents or something from a particular factory. There was, as far as you knew, nothing connecting any of the deviants.

“Lieutenant, do you think more caffeine would help?” Connor asked, and you looked up to see Hank glaring at an empty coffee cup.

“Caffeine...beer…” Hank sighed.

“I could use some coffee,” you said, picking up your own empty cup and shaking it. “I keep trying to drink from this and _nothing_ for the last hour.”

“I will get coffee, then,” Connor informed, taking both cups from the table.

“You don’t have to do that,” you said quickly, “I can get it.”

“You are mid-report, Detective. I will get your coffee. You take it with milk and sugar, correct?” You nodded and you wanted to ask how he knew that, and then you remembered he could analyze just about everything.

“I take mine black,” Hank informed.

“I know, Lieutenant.” Connor headed towards the break room, and you watched him go, noting how fluid his movements were.

“You know, they make sex robots,” Hank said conversationally, and you raised an eyebrow, looking over at him.

“I know,” you responded slowly, holding up the tablet you were working on to show him that you were reading a report about a missing Traci.

“Makes you think,” he continued, “do _all_ androids come equipped like that?”

“I…” you trailed off, unsure of what do with that comment.

“Something to add to the list of things to ask Connor about,” Hank laughed and you rolled your eyes.

“I’m going to go grab something to eat,” you informed, chuckling a little as you headed for the break room. You were hoping that you could find something good to go with your coffee when you stopped in the doorway, just in time to see Reed sucker-punch Connor.

“Reed!” you shouted, crossing the room to shove him away from a kneeling Connor. “What the fuck is your problem?”

“Stupid fucking android,” Reed hissed, “It’s coming for our job next.”

“Reed, go away before I knock you on your ass,” you threatened, and when he gave you a challenging look, you rolled your eyes and instead turned your attention to Connor. You heard Reed mutter something as he walked out of the break room, but you couldn’t care less what it was.

“I’m okay, Detective,” Connor said, offering you the slightest smile as you stooped down to help him up. “Not damaged in the slightest.”

It was then that you noticed how close you were to Connor’s face with your hands wrapped around his arm. There were freckles you hadn’t noticed before; they were lighter than the ones you’d noticed the first time around. You could feel your heartbeat in your chest more than before and you forced yourself to look away as you helped him back up to his feet.

Connor straightened out his tie as soon as you let go of his arm. “I’m sorry to cause tensions between you and Detective Reed,” he apologized. You rolled your eyes, turning away to see what food you’d left in one of the drawers that no one seemed to touch. There wasn’t anything great, but a bag of chips would do.

“You didn’t cause the tension,” you assured. “He’s been getting on my nerves since he took my— since he got here.” You thought better than to continue to harp on the fact he took the spot meant for you two years ago, forcing you to continue to struggle for your promotion.

“You feel as if his transferring took away your promotion,” Connor said, picking up the cups of coffee he’d come in for. “That is why you and the Lieutenant call him Detective Jerk Off.”

“One of the many,” you sighed, closing the drawer. You held your hand out for the cup of coffee and as you were handed it, you added, “Don’t worry about it too much, Connor. It’s just...petty human emotions. We have deviants to worry about instead.” You offered him a smile before heading back to the table to go back to the seemingly infinite files.

As soon as Hank got his cup of coffee, he drained most of it, and you winced at the thought of how bad he’d just burned his mouth. You sipped on your own, turning back to your tablet. You’d barely gotten back to work when Connor spoke.

“We have a new case,” Connor informed. “There was a deviant-related homicide twenty-three minutes ago. I think we should check it out.”

“Sure,” you sighed, “I’m driving though.”

“Why?” Hank chuckled.

“You know why,” you said, giving him a look. “So long as I’m there, you’ll never drive again.” You turned from the table to grab your jacket and keys from your desk. “Where are we going, Connor?”

“The Eden Club,” Connor supplied and the cackle from Hank made immediately afterwards made you roll your eyes and pray he’d keep his comments to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the part where I apologize for vanishing and the fact this chapter might not be great, but being an adult is stressful and expensive and I haven't had much of a chance to enjoy a hobby.
> 
> Sorry gang. Life is rough sometimes.

You’d never stepped foot inside the Eden Club before, and you had to admit, your curiosity was getting the better of you. Androids seemed to serve a limitless amount of uses, and that was part of the reason you were so interested in them. When it came to...companionship androids, you couldn’t say you’d ever really gotten a good look at them. 

That was the reason — the only reason — you were studying the HR400 as closely as you were. 

“If you’re going to rent it, you’ll have to do it on your own time,” quipped Hank as he walked past, shaking you from your examination. As you turned to snap back at Hank, you noticed the smile on the HR400’s face. That was a function you could do without seeing again. You blushed slightly, the same way you did when you caught anyone, any human, looked at you like that and swore under your breath as you nearly walked into Connor.

“Hey Connor,” Hank started, looking over at you with the smirk that you’d seen Hank make every time he was about to cause trouble. “Do all the androids get made with...you know, all the parts? Our detective friend here wonders and is too bashful to ask.”

“Hank,” you hissed, glaring at him. 

“All the parts,” Connor repeated, ignoring your attempt to stop the conversation and the words you were trying to say, the denial that you wanted to know or that you were bashful (who even used the word bashful?), died in your throat. 

“You know,” Hank said, motioning at the HR400 you’d just been inspecting through the glass. “They have a more human-like anatomy.”

“You mean genitals,” Connor responded, and before he could go any further (and you weren’t sure if you could handle it going any further), the owner of the Eden Club approached. While he mostly dealt with Hank, you kept asking questions to keep yourself from watching Connor as he surveyed the place. 

“This is a murder scene,” you pointed out at one point, “is there any particular reason your androids aren’t all powered down and the premises closed?”

“I’ve got money to make,” scoffed the owner. “No one’s gone into that room since you guys were called. Isn’t that good enough?”

“I don’t think the android is gone,” Hank said, “haven’t you seen in the room yet?” 

You raised an eyebrow and in response, Hank nodded his head towards the room. Sure enough, there was a deactivated Traci, blue blood on her face, and a man on the bed.

There was also your least favorite person.

“Reed,” you hissed as you made eye contact. 

“[Y/N],” Reed said, smirking. His eyes flicked to the two behind you. “And Lieutenant Anderson and his plastic pet. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“We’ve been assigned all cases relating to androids,” Connor said simply. Reed rolled his eyes before looking back to you.

“You’re wasting your time. Just some pervert who got more action than he could handle,” chuckled Reed. You opened your mouth to retort, but Hank cut in first.

“We’ll look around anyway if you don’t mind.” 

Reed scoffed, and with a couple other shitty sentiments that made you want to backhand him (god, there were days you wish you weren’t a cop), he was off, brushing intentionally against you. You snarled as his hand found your body, far too close to your butt, and then shouldered Connor as he walked out.

“He damaged my property and then had a fucking heart attack for his trouble,” the owner grumbled from the doorway, looking in on the scene in front of you all.

That made your stomach churn. You couldn’t explain it, but you always hated people referring to androids as property. They just seemed...too real for that to be allowed.

“It wasn’t a heart attack,” Connor informed, looking over the body on the bed.

“Just give us a minute,” Hank told the owner, closing the door on him. “If it wasn’t a heart attack, what was it?”

“If you give me a minute, I can reconstruct the scene,” Connor answered. You watched in fascination as Connor worked, connecting with the decommissioned Traci. 

“What’s in its memory?” asked Hank, glancing up from the victim’s wallet.

“The only way to access its memory is to reactivate it,” the android explained. 

“Think you can do it?” 

Just as Connor started to answer, your phone buzzed in your pocket, and the only reason you didn’t just push it back into your pocket as you went to stop the buzzing was because you saw the captain’s name on the screen. You sighed, and stepped out of the room, towards the door where the music was less loud, and answered.

“[L/N],” Captain Fowler started, not waiting for you to say hello. “There’s been a case I’m assigning you to.”

“But sir!” you protested. “I’m working the case at the Eden Club.” 

“Anderson and the android will survive without you,” he said sternly. “I need you to respond to a break-in. The owner, some artist, has an android that...well, you’ll need to see it for yourself. Reed will meet you out there.”

“Fuck no,” you said automatically. “I’m not working with Reed.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Captain Fowler pointed out. “Go. Now. I expect a report in within an hour.” He promptly hung up, leaving you no choice or change to protest any further. 

You swore under your breath as you shoved your phone back into your pocket, heading towards the crime scene to inform Hank and Connor of your departure. The two were back in the main area, Hank watching as Connor probed one of the dancing android’s memories. 

“Reed needs his hand fucking held at another crime scene,” you spat out to Hank. He looked over at you, grimacing. 

“What’s the point of keeping him around if he can’t do his job?” Hank asked, and you shrugged, watching Connor as he pointed out the way a Traci had gone. He pointed to a male android in a case.

“Hank, rent this one,” Connor said. “It saw where the Traci went.”

“Wait,” you said excitedly, “you’re tracking a Traci with the use of other androids? That’s so cool!” You couldn’t help yourself. This was the kind of thing you found so interesting about androids. The things they could do that you couldn’t...you wanted to know all about them.

“Of course I fucking miss it because the jerk off,” you muttered. Connor looked to you as Hank rented the android he had pointed out, and you could have sworn you saw him smile. 

“Not to worry, Detective. I will recount this to you in extreme detail at a later time,” Connor reassured. You smiled at him.

“I’ll hold you to that,” you said, and as the phone buzzed in your pocket, you sighed and bid your goodbye. 

You were going to kick Reed’s ass for making you miss all the fun.

By the time you got to the scene, it was clear that you weren’t really needed there. According to the first on scene, the android had broken in and assaulted a man, the homeowner’s son, and the hero cops had showed up just in time to neutralize it before it killed the homeowner. 

The homeowner from somewhere behind him, disagreed. Loudly. 

You sidestepped the officer, thanking him rushedly, and headed for the direction of the voice that had disagreed. Before you could get to the homeowner, Reed stepped in your way.

“Why are you even bothering?” he asked, giving you a look. “The android assaulted the guy, and now that stupid plastic bullshit is defunct. Case closed.”

“You asked for me, Reed,” you pointed out through gritted teeth. “Just let me do my job.” You stepped around him and headed for who you wanted to talk to: the man in the wheelchair who was watching his son getting put on a stretcher. It wasn’t until he turned that you recognized him as Carl Manford. Your mom was a fan of his work, and under any other circumstance, you’d be excited to meet him but now, you had to push all that aside.

“Mr. Manford?” you said, trying to get his attention as you approached. As you got to him, he was still watching his son as he was being wheeled back out towards the front door. You cleared your throat. “Mr. Manford,” you tried again, and this time, you caught his attention. “I’m Detective [L/N]. Would it be alright if I asked some questions about what happened tonight?” 

“What does it matter?” he sighed. “Markus is dead.”

“Actually, I think he’s going to be alright,” you said, turning towards the direction of where the stretcher went.

“Not Leo, Markus,” he corrected. “They just shot him before they asked any questions. That’s how Detroit PD treats androids.”

“Oh,” you said quietly. 

Him. Not it. 

Dead.

“I’m...very sorry for your loss, Mr. Manford,” you said quietly. “Artificial life, like organic, is a terrible thing to see cut short.” He gave you a look as if he didn’t believe what you were saying, but you just blinked in return. “I investigate android-related crimes more than I do anything else. I ask to do that,” you went on. “I don’t believe they’re the mindless machines people think they are. I’ve seen it, Mr. Manford. There’s something...human in their eyes.”

“Almost like they have souls after all,” he sighed, glancing to the painting on the easel. 

“That is...a very interesting painting,” you said slowly as you took it in, hand covered in chains. “Not much like your other work.”

“You know my work?”

“Yes sir, my mom has quite a few prints around the house,” you said, glancing over at him. “Only one is on canvas, and she always joked she’d sell me in a heartbeat for an original.” 

Carl Manford’s hollow chuckle almost hurt to listen to. It was sad in a way you couldn’t quite understand but it seeped to your chest anyway. That was always a note in your file; you were far too empathic sometimes. That’s why Captain Fowler tended to give you half-investigated cases. You were further removed from the sadness. 

“Well, this was Markus’ work,” he explained.

“Wait...Markus painted this?” you asked, and when he nodded. “What...well, what model was he?” You hated the way that sounded, but there wasn’t a gentler way to put it.

“A prototype,” he responded, “one of a kind from the creator himself.”

That made your heart leap into your throat. Clumsily, you dug a business card out of your pocket to hold out to him.

“Mr. Manford, if there’s anything else I can do for you, please do not hesitate to call me,” you said hurriedly as he took the business card, “but if you’ll excuse me, I have to catch a truck.” With that, you sprinted out of the house, barreling into Reed who had stopped in the driveway.

“Hey, what the fuck?” Reed grumbled as he stumbled.

“Reed, where did the android go?” you asked quickly. “This is important, skip the bullshit.”

“Carted off to the junkyard,” he answered, “why?” 

You swore loudly. ‘We need to get it before it gets there, Reed!”

“Why?” he asked again, looking annoyed. “It’s probably just about there now.”

“Why?” you repeated, giving him an incredulous look. “That android was a prototype! A gift to Carl Manford from Kamski himself. Imagine what we could learn if we could study it.” 

“It’s junk that almost killed a human,” Reed said, “or are you too much of a plastic fucker to understand that?”

You blinked a couple times as you took that in. “Plastic...fucker,” you said slowly as the sentiment sunk in.

“Don’t think we don’t all see how you look at that shiny job stealer,” he hissed. You scoffed, but you couldn’t look him in the eye.

“First they come for your job, and then the women,” you snorted. “Jesus fucking christ, Reed. Listen to yourself. This isn’t the 1800’s.” 

“How much longer until women decide they’d rather just have a shiny piece of plastic they can just put away when they’re done, huh? And then what?”

“First of all, always, Reed. Have you never heard of a sex toy?” you asked, giving him a look that showed just how stupid you found him to be. “Second of all, it’s the other way around. Men are spending money on Tracis every minute. Read a fucking magazine, it’s every other article.” You shook your head before trying to get back to your point. “Manford’s robot was painting. Originals. Not photorealistic copies. Do you have any idea how advanced he was?”

“It doesn’t matter because IT is being chopped to bits and thrown in a fucking junkyard,” Reed pointed out. “Case closed.”

“Stupid,” you grumbled before stepping towards the curb.

“The station,” you snapped, “Hank and Connor should be done at the Eden Club by now.”

“And how do you expect to do that with no car?” he laughed. You rolled your eyes and held up your own keys as you walked away. The do not cross lines had already been up by the time you got there, so you’d had to park further away. Thankfully, it meant you got away from Reed that much quicker. 

You decided to take the long way back, swinging by the android recycling center on the way as if you actually had a hope of getting Carl Manford’s android.


End file.
